The War at Home: Bill Kunstler, TV Series Finale #40

Published: February 9, 2008

This edition of the podcast is part of the Adopt a Writer project in which various TV websites have the opportunity to interview members of the Writers Guild and get their perspective on their work and the current writers strike.

Bill Kunstler has written for many television series over the past 13 years. After working on The Jeff Foxworthy Show, he spent a season on Murphy Brown, the hugely popular TV newsroom sitcom of the 1990s that stars Candice Bergen. From there, he went on to numerous short-lived shows like Inside Schwartz, DAG, Quintuplets, Oh Baby — working with talented performers like David Allen Grier, Andy Richtor, Delta Burke, Charlie Finn, and Christopher Rich.

Bill recently spent over a year on the FOX sitcom The War at Home which stars Michael Rapaport as an outspoken and prejudiced husband and father of three teens. On first glance, the series might appear to be just a crass FOX sitcom but, the series actually tackled some tough issues in a wonderfully astute and sensitive way. Despite a loyal core audience, the show was cancelled in 2007.

The series finale ends with eldest child Hillary having finally graduated high school. Her parents, Dave and Vicky are celebrating until they realize Vicky’s pregnant with another child.

In this interview, Bill talks about working on Murphy Brown, the challenges of working with cancellation-crazy networks, the “lost” episode of The War at Home, the episode in which Larry’s best friend Kenny (Rami Malek) comes out of the closet, the end of the sitcom, and what the third season might have held for the characters.

We also discuss the current writers strike — how it’s affected him personally, why it’s so important, and what he’s doing to help his fellow writers in his work with United Artists (headed by Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner). Tune in!

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